Good lord, has it really been two months since the last MISCELLANY post? I knew I had neglected this series, but didn’t realized how pathetically neglectful I’d been. With that much of a lag, I ought to remind everyone of the rules of this game: I randomly pick a few bands whose music I’ve never heard and whose names are new to me. I listen to one recent song by each band (I try to limit myself to just one song, but I sometimes I get carried away). I record my impressions here, and then I stream the song(s) I heard so you can make up your own minds about whether to explore the music further.

I try to limit this game to newer DIY bands as one way for us to help give some visibility and support to underground upstarts. We get so many e-mails and FB messages from bands and fans these days, and so much time has passed since the last time I played this game, that there are dozens and dozens of bands I could pick from. So, how to choose? This time I decided to just pick the last three bands who contacted us on Facebook.

This may lead to even more bands messaging us on Facebook. I wish I had time to give all of them a fair listen and some visibility on our site, but unfortunately I don’t. So I’ll just say in advance: Don’t think I’m a douchecannon for ignoring you. I may be a douchecannon for lots of other reasons, but being unable to expand the number of hours in the day isn’t one of them.

This Australian outfit released a debut album in 2007 by the name of Rip Him From His Fucking Throne. As it turns out, at that point the band included drummer John Sankey, who we’ve gotten to know through his involvement in Devolved (I reviewed their forthcoming album Reprisalhere). After John Sankey moved to the U.S., the band recruited a new drummer and experienced a couple of further line-up changes after that.

They’re now working on a second album to be entitled EMET, which is the Hebrew word for “truth”. Limb From Limb invited us to check out a track from the new album, “Impale the Icon”, and so I did.

It’s one heavy-hitting artillery barrage of death metal brutality, flitting between big-booted stomping, start-stop hammering, and waves of sonic carpet-bombing, with a needling melodic guitar line that got stuck in my head. Very nice! Limb From Limb are planning to complete the album in time for release by the end of this year or possibly 2013. It’s definitely one I want to hear.

“Impale the Icon”
[audio:https://www.nocleansinging.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/IMPALE-THE-ICON.mp3|titles=Limb From Limb – Impale the Icon]

After listening to that new Limb From Limb track, I moved on to this five-man crew from Żory, Poland. They’ve recorded and recently self-released a four-track debut EP called Sunday Hordes, which is streaming on ReverbNation and is also available for free download at Death Metal Invasion.

The first track is a synthesized atmospheric instrumental intro (effectively creepy and ominous), so in addition to hearing that I also took in the second track, “Sunday Hordes”. I must be living right, because this proved to be the second winner in a row of this MISCELLANY session.

It’s hellish, high-octane death metal, alternately swarming and jabbing with blistering guitars, booming/bounding bass notes, and machine-gun percussion. But the song also moans and groans with infernal power. Nice bear-like vocals, too. And yes, I cheated on the MISCELLANY rules and listened to the rest of the EP. It’s all top-notch, technically accomplished stuff in the Vader vein, with some nice melodies, too. Remember the name Inset — this band are going places.

This band are from Lund, Sweden, and they recently self-released their debut album, State of Nothing. Six of the album’s songs are streaming and available for free download either on the band’s Facebook band profile page (here) or at ReverbNation (here). I also found an eMusic page where the whole album can be purchased.

After getting battered by those Inset tracks, I decided to check out “Enigma”, the first of the six tracks streaming on To Dust’s Facebook player. It’s a nice face-shredder of keyboard-enhanced Scandinavian melodic death metal . . . with a bass solo! And very nice, wolfishly wild vocals reminiscent of Hypocrisy’sPeter Tägtgren . And galloping riffs. And a catchy melody.

Well, fuck it, I went ahead and checked out the next song on the FB player, “Senseless”. It’s not quite as galloping as the first track, and even heavier on the keyboards (and more bass soloing with keyboard accompaniment!). But man, it’s just as engrossing as the first song. To Dust have genuine songwriting and performance skill and State of Nothing is looking like an album that needs to be heard from start to finish. See what you think: